Inter Miami owner reveals Messi talks took three years
Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas has revealed it took three years of negotiations to bring Lionel Messi to the Major League Soccer club.
The Argentine World Cup winner, 36, is set to be officially announced as a Miami player after ending his two-year spell at Paris Saint-Germain.
Messi's arrival is sure to spark a huge influx of interest in MLS and Mas has revealed just how much effort it took to bring the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner to Florida.
He told Spanish newspaper El Pais: "In 2019 [when Messi was still at Barcelona], we started thinking about how we could bring him.
"I spent three years on it, a year-and-a-half [working] very intensely.
"There were many conversations with [Messi's father and agent] Jorge. [Inter Miami co-owner] David [Beckham] talked to Leo, only about football issues, because he was a player."
Messi had been strongly linked with a return to Barcelona this summer but the Catalan giants did not have the finances to secure the deal.
He is also thought to have turned down a lucrative move to Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Hilal in favour of a switch to the United States.
Mas added: "I saw it as done at the end of May. I didn't want him to feel under pressure.
"We had spoken in Barcelona, Miami, Rosario, Doha — I spent the whole World Cup in Qatar, watching Argentina.
"The Apple contract was very important to close the deal."
Former Barca boss and fellow Argentine Gerardo Martino has recently been named manager of the Eastern Conference's bottom-placed side, with ex-Blaugrana midfielder Sergio Busquets also joining.
And Mas says they have looked at bringing more of Messi's former team-mates to the Sunshine State.
On interest in Luis Suarez and Angel Di Maria, he said: "He [Suarez] is under contract, he has a clause, and I don't know if this will materialise.
"We have also spoken to Di Maria but it seems that he is about to sign for another team."
